Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-04

4
own moral character and that the gov
eminent has right to exercise differ
ent supervision over him from that exer-
cised over others. If they have the farm
er and laboring man it would take Phil
adel9hia lawyer to find out on what
principle.
! The farmer now has the benefit OF the
revenue, at the same time he has local
option and can regulate his traffic IN his
own locality without disturbing other
| sections of the state where the people
| look 81 the matter in different light.
This has been considered good enough
| in Texas for years, but the political pro-
hibitionist despises local option and loves
political agitation. His dreams by day
ana night are more of the paraphernalla
and emoluments and perquisites OF Office
than of angels made by prohibition. He
expects the farmers and other industrial
classes to see this thing in the same light
as he does when they haven't the same
motives If he had been after the saloon
he could have gotten rid of them by
| simple act of the Legislature and saved
the thousands spent in the prohibition
campaign to help temperance societies.
INTOLERANCE.
In spite o. all the manifest weaknesses
! Of this stupendOusly foolish amendments,
no man is to be allowed TO oppose it and
retain his church or social standing. The
people are not to hear it discussed but De
sworn up in advance to support 1t. The
question is not one of Whiskey or saloons,
! for it leaves whisky to be sold in unde-
! fined quantities, and each man with mon
ey to fill mis- cellar by every train. L
don't believe that the people OF Texas
will ever adopt this amendment II It's fuIl
scope and necessary results are fully I'M
derstood by them, and this is why some
prOhibitiOniStS are so anxious to commit
them without hearing. All the puoHca-
lions of the amendment have been by
those opposed to it.
There will be q great change in public
sentiment when this amendment is fully
understood; and when the farmer OF
| North Texas goes to the tax collector OF
his county and finds out how much more
} in taxes his county pays to the school
fund than is returned to it tor school pur-
poses, and then figures how much more
it will cost him to enact and enforce q
law that confscates the taxpaying prop
erty of whole sections Of the state and
deprives that people Of the necessaries OF
life, he will not be persuaded or driven
crude piece of legislation. The evils OF
whisky may be great, but in this
instance the cure will DE worse than the
evil.
THE FIGHT.
We have got hard fight because we
have been slow in organizing, but there
is nothing in it to scare man as badly as
some are scared. The other side has
raised the cry that it is s moral question,
and at the same time have done some aw-
full slick political work. There are many
men, even leaders, who know that prOhi-
bition is wrong, but are afraid to say so.
To all such | say that there is room in
the rear for the crippled and cowardly;
our battle-cry will be "Texas and free
DOM" and we want neither camp-follow-
ers nor deserters. This is going to be q
fight to the death for civil liberty and
the August battle will be but the
first of series of battles. They claim to
fight under the banner of the church; we
claim to fight under the banner OF relig
ious and civil liberty, the same that was
carried by our foretathers to q glorious
victory. We want men to the front in
every county to battle for the principles
of free government, men who, with steady
eye and step, can denounce SANDER anC
Vituperatfon, no matter from whence OF
in what shape it may come. This is 6
. fight against fanaticism that would de-
stroy. the vineyards of Texas and put 6
constable on every mans farm to regu-
latelE his personal habits and pursuits
Let no man be deceived as to the true IS
sue or dire results that will follow the
adoption of this piece of class legislation
or the precedents that will be established
= thereby, to have the law regulate a mans
habits and the free use of his own prop
erty and legislalate differently for differ
,, ent classes of citizens. The ruin Of
every government has resulted from al
apparently harmless precedent, which
wrongfully conceded a principle.
The amendment itself admits that Ii
; quor is not an unmitigsted evil, yet the
Prohibitionists. in their speeches, tres
this as legislation against gambling
prostitution and other things that are
unmitigated evils.
UNDERLYING MOTIVE = sALOONS-L0CAI
OPTION.
What is the motive behind all this a9i
tation? OF course good men have gone
, into the movement from pure, unpOlitiCa
: motives; the most of these have done sc
without a critical examination of the
amendment, and under whip and spur
and the belief that it was a measure
directed exclusively against saloons
What were the motives of the men now a
the head of the movement anc
who have been nominating tickets
and getting out platforms de
nouncing the Democratic and Republican
parties, especially the Democratic? You
never saw one of these political prohi-
bitionists in your life that did't condemn
and try to make failure out of Ieca
option in Texas. Why? Because i
didn't leave an opening for a political
party. 1t was too effective but not
political enough. 1t done much good fol
temperance in Georgia and here, but
didn't carry the offices and politica
issue. 1t was too good temperance
but not a sufficiently good political ex.
pedient.
SALOONS.
Under the present constitution there
has never been a Legislature that il
/ elected on that platform couldn't have
| mi